Why Blocked Traffic in the iGaming Industry is Costing Publishers and Operators More Than They Think
When reviewing the performance of their marketing campaigns, publishers and operators typically focus on tracking metrics relating to the number of clicks, the number of registrations, the number of visitors who deposited funds into their accounts, and the revenue that was generated by those visitors.
However, both of these parties often fail to account for one of the largest areas of lost revenue: blocked traffic.
Blocked traffic refers to visitors to a publisher’s website who are unable to access an operator’s site due to a variety of potential issues. As a result of this inability to access the operator, publishers and operators both lose revenue and experience a decline in the visitor experience.
However, the good news is that blocked traffic can be measured, and the implementation of certain technologies and strategies can help to recover a significant portion of that traffic while staying in compliance with regulations within each market.
What Is Blocked Traffic?
Blocked traffic can be defined as the number of visitors who are prevented from reaching an operator’s website because of a variety of potential reasons.
Some of the most common reasons that a visitor may be blocked from an operator includes the following reasons:
Geographic restrictions
Licensing restrictions
Compliance requirements
Technical failures
Payment method restrictions
Availability of the operator
Despite these restrictions, the visitors that are blocked typically have the same level of interest in accessing an online gambling site as those who are successful in accessing those operators.
The Hidden Cost of Every Blocked Click
Any traffic that is acquired by a publisher comes with a cost.
Whether those visitors are gained through search engine optimization, paid advertising, affiliate marketing programs, email marketing, social media, or content marketing, there is a cost associated with each visitor.
When those visitors are blocked from accessing the website of an operator, the publisher has spent resources to acquire those visitors but has gained no return on that investment.
Your Analytics May Be Misleading
Most analytics platforms report the number of visitors who successfully registered with a site and deposited funds into their accounts.
Any visitors who are blocked from gaining access to those sites do not appear within these reports. As a result, publishers may have a misleading understanding of the success of their campaigns.
Understanding each visitor’s journey and where they may become blocked can help provide a more accurate picture of publisher performance.
User Trust Declines Quickly
When visitors to a publisher’s site are blocked from the operators’ websites, the trust that those visitors have in that publisher declines.
These visitors may be disappointed by the experience that they encounter when attempting to access the operator’s website. As a result, they may leave the publisher’s site altogether to search for another operator that does not have these issues.
Improving the visitor experience when attempting to access operators will work to benefit the publisher in terms of revenue and reputation.
Blocked Traffic Reduces Marketing ROI
Traffic acquisition efforts are often measured by the return on that investment.
Blocked traffic can decrease the return on marketing investments because blocked traffic can lead to the loss of the following:
Increased acquisition costs
Decreased conversion rates
Decreased earnings per click (EPC) ratios
Wasted traffic
Recovering blocked traffic can be less costly than increasing spending on acquiring traffic.
Geographic Restrictions Create Revenue Gaps
Because publishers are typically active in international markets, they typically receive visitors from a variety of countries.
However, not all operators will accept players from all countries. By not appropriately targeting the countries from which publishers receive their traffic, publishers lose the opportunity to earn revenue from those countries.
By localizing their marketing efforts, publishers can reduce these revenue gaps.
Technical Issues Can Cause Hidden Blocks
Not all instances of blocked traffic are due to regulatory issues.
Other issues that may lead to blocked visitors may include:
Redirect issues
Affiliate link issues
DNS issues
Landing page issues
Server issues
By reviewing the technical aspects of a publisher’s website, publishers can fix these issues prior to losing valuable traffic.
Better Traffic Segmentation
Not all instances of blocked traffic have the same cause.
By segmenting traffic according to the following criteria, publishers can reduce blocked traffic:
Country of origin
Device model
Browser type
Traffic source
Campaign
Landing page
With proper traffic segmentation, publishers can identify the best methods of reducing blocked traffic.
Use Intelligent Traffic Routing
Intelligent traffic routing platforms analyze the visitor before allowing them to access an affiliate offer.
This analysis may include reviewing the visitor’s:
Location
Licensing information
Device type
Traffic campaign
Browser language
Should the visitor not be accepted by one operator, another may be automatically displayed for that visitor.
Diversify Your Operator Network
Working with multiple operators will give publishers and operators more flexibility in their partnerships.
Benefits of using multiple operators may include:
Greater coverage of different regions
Greater ability to find a suitable player
Increased conversion rates
Reduced dependency on one operator to provide revenue
By diversifying their operator partnerships, publishers can maximize the revenue from their acquired traffic.
Build Market-Specific Content
Publishers can create content that is specific to the markets from which they receive the majority of their traffic.
Examples of such content may include:
Content about different casinos in specific countries
Guides to the sportsbooks available in specific regions
Articles regarding specific payment methods in certain countries
Content regarding the bonuses available to players in specific jurisdictions
By creating content targeted according to the location of the visitors, publishers can increase the likelihood that visitors will not become blocked while attempting to access an operator.
Monitor Blocked Traffic as a KPI
The number of blocked visitors should be made into a key performance indicator for publishers.
Monitoring the following aspects may help publishers:
Percentage of visitors that were blocked
Rate at which blocked traffic can be recovered
Geographic distribution of blocked traffic
Number of redirects and how many were successful
Revenue that was recovered from blocked traffic
By monitoring these aspects, publishers can make necessary adjustments to their campaigns.
AI Is Improving Traffic Recovery
Artificial intelligence technology is introducing new methods of improving the recovery of traffic that would otherwise be blocked.
These platforms can recover blocked traffic by:
Detecting blocked visitors
Recommending alternative operators
Calculating the chance that a visitor will convert to a player
Optimizing where visitors are routed
Detecting performance issues
Through the use of artificial intelligence, publishers can optimize their efforts to maximize revenue from their traffic.
Common Mistakes
Publishers may make a variety of mistakes that increase the number of visitors that are blocked by operators.
Some of these common mistakes are making the following changes:
Offering operators that are not localized to specific countries
Ignoring geographic analytics
Using out-of-date affiliate links
Using only one operator
Not monitoring redirect links
Not testing the user journey to ensure that it does not result in blocked traffic
Making any of these mistakes will significantly impact publishers’ revenue.
Best Practices
Some of the best practices for publishers to follow to reduce blocked traffic include the following steps:
Analyzing traffic according to the markets from which they originate
Maintaining partnerships with multiple operators
Monitoring the health of redirect links
Regularly updating the promotions at the operators with which they partner
Localizing the landing pages on their website
Tracking the recovery of their traffic
Optimizing their website for mobile visitors
Using intelligent traffic routing software
Following these practices will significantly benefit publishers and operators.
Looking Ahead
As more countries continue to implement regulations for the online gambling of their players, the ability of publishers to appropriately manage blocked traffic will become more important.
Some of the future solutions to this problem may include the following:
Use of AI to automatically route traffic
Real-time validation of licensing statuses
Dynamic creation of player-operator matchups
Predictive software to calculate the likelihood of a visitor converting
Automated recovery of blocked traffic
By implementing these solutions, publishers will find that they are able to maximize their revenue streams while adhering to the regulations placed upon them.
Final Thoughts
Blocked traffic is a cost that publishers and operators may not consider to be negatively impacting their profits.
However, each visitor that is blocked from accessing the revenue-generating websites of the operator results in the publisher or operator losing revenue.
By understanding the common causes of blocked traffic and by implementing the strategies mentioned in this article, publishers and operators will find that they are able to increase the amount of traffic that is recovered and, therefore, profitable for their companies. In today’s market, reducing blocked traffic is a cost-free method of increasing revenue without having to invest in increasing the number of visitors that are acquired.